PREPARING FOR UNIVERSITY

Are you thinking about going to university after Sixth Form, but don’t yet know what you will want to study? Taking two “facilitating” A Level subjects will keep lots of options open to you. The “facilitating” subjects are:

1. Biology
2. Chemistry
3. English Literature
4. Geography
5. History
6. Physics
7. Modern Languages
8. Maths and Further Maths

All of these subjects are on offer at Bewdley Sixth Form.  Personalised advice and guidance is given to each student each term in order to help plan your next step.

Oxbridge applicants receive personalised support from Ms Walters (a Cambridge Graduate herself) from the start of Year 12.  This programme of support includes opportunity to visit the universities and guidance and visits from an admissions tutor at Oriel College Oxford.

Personalised support in writing your UCAS application is central to our success in enabling students to secure places at their chosen university and course.

All students who wish their ‘Next Step’ to be a University degree course need to apply through a process called UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Centre). Students are able to apply for 5 different courses; 4 if applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary science. UCAS rules are such that applicants do not list universities in order of preference and universities are not allowed to know where these students have applied.

All Year 12 Bewdley students will register their personal details with UCAS in June. They will not apply for courses until all parties concerned (Form Tutor, Head of Year and student) are happy that this is the right post-18 pathway.

This timeline (and attached video link) will support you through the process

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/how-write-ucas-undergraduate-personal-statement

There are also a number of online resources to help with this:

www.ucas.com : University Courses and applications

www.ucas.tv : How to apply for University

www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/index.htm : Student finance and graduate opportunities

www.prospects.ac.uk : Official graduate careers website

www.notgoingtouni.co.uk : Alternatives to the University route

There are also some other general advice websites for parents which may be helpful:

www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean – Information on the new grading system

www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/family-advice-and-support.aspx -Worcestershire’s Early Help Hub

www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/parent-partnership-service.aspx – Support for non-curriculum issues

Student Finance – Useful information about applying for student finance

Student Finance Frequently Asked Questions – Here students can find answers to some of the most common questions about student finance

Which University – Get help and support with Personal Statements for University

UCAS – Personal Statement Guides

Many other opportunities are mentioned in our Partnerships page, which include our Community Action programme, university partnerships and our International Curriculum. There is a bewildering array of curriculum linked opportunities for students to choose from, which are on the following pages and continually updated.